Water sports such as wakeboarding, wakeskating, skurfing, wake surfing, and knee boarding have become increasingly popular. Due to the popularity of such water sports, new technology has been developed to enhance the participant's experience.
Particularly, several measures have been taken to increase the size of the wake made by the watercraft that is towing a wake boarder or other type of water sport enthusiast, such as a wake skater, wake surfer, or tuber. The size of the wake, which is the track left by a moving watercraft in the water, can determine how enjoyable the experience is for the user being towed. The higher and more voluminous the wake is, the greater vertical lift a wake boarder or watercraft sport enthusiast can achieve when moving over and springing off of the wake. With this greater vertical lift, the user can perform tricks and stunts that would not be possible with a smaller wake.
One way in which the wake is made bigger is by adding large amounts of weight to the boat or watercraft. This is often achieved by adding a water ballast system to the inside of the watercraft. A water ballast system will take on water when desired to cause the watercraft to ride lower and sink farther into the water, in other words, to increase the draft of the watercraft. When the watercraft then moves through the water, the increased draft causes the resulting wake to be larger.
While a ballast system does make a larger wake and does make it possible for the user to gain greater lift from the wake, it also has several disadvantages. For example, a ballast system causes the watercraft to experience a drastic decrease in fuel efficiency and handling, and creates all around greater wear and tear on the watercraft's mechanical parts.
In addition, ballast systems are generally only available in newer watercraft for the purpose of increasing wake size. Older watercraft do not have such ballast systems, and ballast systems are extremely difficult to retrofit to older watercraft. When a ballast system is added to an older watercraft, the result is usually not cost effective and outweighs the advantages of having a larger wake obtained through installing such a ballast system.
Another way in which a user can enhance the vertical lift he or she can achieve over the wake of a watercraft is to include a tower on the watercraft. The towrope is then attached to the top of the tower. By increasing the distance between the surface of the water and the point at which the towrope is attached to the watercraft, the skier or boarder being towed can exert force, pulling upward on the towrope to achieve a greater vertical lift over the wake. The tower is typically a pylon or framework usually made of aluminum or other light metals.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.